by Derek Ailes
Katherine watched Vincent push his Frosted Flakes around his bowl with his spoon. She could tell something was bothering him.
“Vincent, is your cereal not great?”
“Huh?” he looked up at her. “Vance came to see me today.”
“What did he want?”
“Someone is killing all my fellow mercenaries?”
“Are we safe?”
“While we are down here, we are.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the Emergency Broadcast System over the community’s PA system. “Announcing the commencement of the annual purge sanctioned by the U.S. Government. Any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for the next twelve hours.”
“What’s a purge?” Katherine asked.
“I don’t know.”
The power in the underground community went out and the emergency lights immediately came on.
“Grab the weapons. Somebody knows we’re here,” Vincent said.
His finger bones extended outward ready to ward off an attack. He ran out into the tunnel where several dwarfs were standing on top of each other holding a large sword. The bottom dwarf tripped over a rock causing all of them to crash to the ground. The sword flew into the air and landed on top of Dopey, slicing him in two.
The hair all over Vincent’s body stood upward as he sensed Tybalt nearby. He heard Katherine scream. He ran back into their quarters where Katherine lay on the floor in a pool of her own blood.
“Katherine!” he screamed.
“Hello, brother,” Tybalt said from behind him.
Vincent spun around as Tybalt hit him in the head with a large stone knocking him unconscious. When he awoke, Katherine’s body was gone. Tybalt left him a message written in blood on the floor. “TIGERNAUTS DON’T RETIRE!”
Vincent was greeted by Vance as he entered the government facility.
“Where is he?”
“Vincent, we are combing through all the surveillance footage in the area. Even if we do find him, you are no match for him. He’s become a more efficient and deadly killer since Africa. He observes people, finds their weaknesses and then strikes.”
“I’ll find a way.”
“I may be able to help you. You remember the green crystals we were searching for in Africa? They are from one of the superhero’s home planet that was destroyed. We found a large meteor made of it. My scientists believe if one such as yourself is injected with a serum made from the meteor, it will enhance your super abilities.”
“It will make me strong enough to destroy Tybalt?”
“If it works, it will. That is if you survive the procedure.”
“I could die?”
“Yes, but with you regenerative abilities, you may be able to survive it. I must warn you ahead of time. The procedure will be very painful.”
“He killed Katherine. I have nothing left to live for, but revenge. I’ll take the risk.” He handed his dog tags to Vance. “I want new ones made. The name Vincent died with Katherine. From now on, I will be known as Tigernaut.”
“I’ll have them made immediately. I’ll have my scientists prep you for the procedure.”
“The sooner we get this done, the sooner I get to kill Tybalt.”
Tigernaut lay restrained on a small metal gurney attached to a pulley system suspended above a small chamber filled with water. He was completely naked with a breathing apparatus attached to his nose and mouth.
“Tigernaut, just stay calm as we lower you into the water. Try to remain still during the procedure.”
Vance nodded to his head scientist to begin. Tigernaut was lowered into the water. The water was ice cold causing him to shiver. He could see a large drill with a long tube attached to it moving toward his right arm.
“Try not to hit one of his organs,” Vance cautioned.
As the drill neared his body, it missed the right arm and penetrated his abdomen. Tigernaut’s nose glowed bright red, and the chamber vibrated violently.
“My bad,” the scientist said.
“Try again, but this time the drill goes in his arm.”
He positioned the drill next to Tigernaut’s arm and successfully embedded it inside.
“Activate the serum.”
The glowing green liquid entered his veins and ran throughout his body. His body shook as the serum modified his DNA enhancing his superhuman abilities. His skeleton changed from bone to wood, stronger than any tree. The wood extended outward and ripped through his fingers.
“It’s a thing of beauty,” the scientist said.
“He’s turning into the ultimate weapon,” Vance added.
“How are we going to control him?”
“First, we will erase his memories.”
Unbeknownst to them, all of Tigernaut’s senses were enhanced by the serum including his hearing. Tigernaut jerked his arms and legs toward his chest ripping apart his restraints. He jumped out of the water with a fish dangling from his mouth. He spit it out and then stared at Vance angrily.
“Nobody’s erasing my memories!”
“Guards, seize him!” Vance ordered.
Twenty soldiers rushed into the room carrying laser weapons. Tigernaut looked at the wooden stakes protruding from each of his fingers. Before any soldier could fire a shot, he had them on the ground covered in their blood. Next, several vampires entered the room, and they exploded into clouds of dust as he impaled each one of them. He grabbed one of the laser weapons and blasted a large hole in the wall. He ran out of the building and toward the forest.
“Send a team after him.”
Tigernaut ran through the forest and out into a field where a short girl with long, silver hair was feeding a dragon.
“I love your show,” Tigernaut said as he passed her continuing down the road toward an old, red barn.
He cautiously entered the barn and stared in amazement at what he saw inside. There were silver chains dangling from the ceiling and a large motorcycle standing by the back corner. He walked toward the motorcycle hoping the keys were in it.
“Excuse me, extremely gifted nude fellow,” a southern voice from behind him said. “Don’t even think it. Nobody rides that bike but me.”
“I’m in danger. I need that bike. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I seriously doubt that you could,” the man wearing a black leather jacket said.
“Sir, if you knew the day I’ve had.”
“Trust me, I’ve had worse. The name’s Jeremy Fireball.”
“The Phantom Biker?”
“The one and the same.” He threw a leather jacket and jeans toward him. “Put these on. Your nakedness is making me uncomfortable.”
“Thanks.”
Jeremy looked out the window and saw helicopters and tanks heading toward the barn “I see you brought some friends.”
“Can you get me out of here?”
“An enemy of the military is a friend in my book.” He grabbed one of the chains and it instantly became engulfed in fire. His face mutated into one similar to the doll in the SAW movies. He jumped on the motorcycle and it instantly caught on fire. “Hop on if you can handle the heat!”
“With pleasure,” he said and sat behind him.
“Hold on! It’s going to be a hot, bumpy ride!”
He rode forward crashing through the side of the barn as it exploded from a missile from one of the helicopters. The tanks and helicopter fired several rounds at them but Jeremy avoided them.
“Lower your head!” Jeremy instructed him as he flung his chain backward. The chain wrapped around one of the helicopter’s skids. He jerked forward causing the helicopter to crash into one of the tanks.
The other helicopter flew past them and spun around. Jeremy flung his chain wrapping around its tail and flung it backward into the other tank. Tigernaut cheered as it exploded.
“Where to?” Jeremy asked.
“Chicago.”
“That’s a lo
ng ride. I haven’t been there in years. Hold on tightly. We’re going full speed. I’ll have you there by nightfall.”
Scott Marsden sat in the back of the classroom at Willowcreek Middle School in Portage, Indiana. He was shy and didn’t like being in front where the teacher, Mrs. Markowitz, liked to call on the students to answer lame questions. He liked the solitude of the back where the teacher neglected the students. With the thick lenses in her glasses, he didn’t think she could even see him anyway.
He felt nauseous. He knew when he woke up that morning that he wasn’t feeling right, but his mother made him go to school anyway. Sweat poured down his head and the back of his shirt was drenched. He felt his chest fill up as if it were preparing for him to puke all over his desk. He slowly stood up, almost passing out. He rushed out of the room, knocking over the garbage in the process.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Mrs. Markowitz asked.
He ran down the hallway and into the restroom. He rushed over to the toilet. When he opened his mouth, fire shot out in a large stream setting the bathroom on fire. He felt his stomach churning again and threw up more fire, setting the ceiling ablaze.
“Now that was a neat trick,” somebody said from behind him. “Are you planning on burning the whole school down?”
Scott stared at the muscular, tiger-like creature wearing a black trench coat standing next to him with his long, sharp fingernails pointing at him.
“What do you want?”
“I’m here for you.” He forcefully grabbed him and placed a metallic muzzle over his mouth. “I can’t have you trying to burn me alive.”
As he dragged him out of the bathroom, the sprinklers kicked on unsuccessfully trying to put out the fire that had spread rapidly. He dragged him over to a white van, shoved him in and drove away.
Scott stared at him.
“My employer, Vance Vyper, was able to track you the moment your super abilities began to develop. He sent me here to acquire you. Your abilities will be very useful to him. I hope you’re not afraid to fly, because we have a long flight ahead of us.”
Jeremy pulled in front of Maximum Pain Bar. Tigernaut jumped off the bike and shook Jeremy’s hand. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Good luck. I’ll see you in an upcoming sequel, perhaps.” As Jeremy drove away, he vanished.
Tigernaut entered the bar where he spotted Don sitting at the back table writing in his journal. Don smiled as he spotted him approaching.
“I’d say look what the cat dragged in, but you are the cat,” he laughed.
“Don, good to see you alive.”
“Vincent, how did you find me?”
“Tigernaut. I don’t go by Vincent anymore. You are a creature of habit. This is where you always are when you’re not on an assignment.”
“What brings you here?”
“Tybalt. Do you have any idea where I can find him?”
“Not a clue, but Freddy Fingers might.”
“Where is he?”
“I can take you to him. Be warned, he’s kind of different now. He became obsessed with making himself more powerful. He accidentally mutated himself into something.”
“What something?”
“You’ll have to see it for yourself. There are no words to describe it.”
They stood in front of a strip joint called: Nudes, Nudes, Nudes and More Nudes.
“Really? He frequents here?” Tigernaut asked. He placed a cigar in his mouth and lit it with his golden lighter.
“No, he owns it. You won’t find him in front where the patrons can see him. He hides in the back guarding the money,” Don explained.
They entered the bar where a small man resembling Stan Lee was on the stage holding a microphone. “Now introducing our next sexy lady! She’s a master of the bow and arrow! Give your applause and all your singles to Catniss Everready!”
They passed the stage and entered through the curtains toward the back. Tigernaut took one look at Freddy and dropped his cigar in shock. The once muscular Russian assassin was now a big pile of pink, translucent goo. There were chunks of white specks that used to be his bones swimming within the goo reminding him of the Jell-O with fruit that he hated so much.
“Whatever you do, don’t refer to him as a blob,” Don whispered in his ear.
“If it isn’t Vincent and Don,” Freddy said as he slid toward them leaving a trail of goo behind him.
“Freddy, you’re looking…”
“I’m looking what?” He asked angrily. “Go ahead and say it. I’m looking like a blob or a freak. How about slime ball?”
“I was going to say looking well,” Tigernaut said.
“This is all your fault! Things turned to crap after you abandoned us. Vance had us doing things, unspeakable things. Having us hunt people like us. Your brother became his pet monkey, doing all his dirty deeds.”
“Why was Vance hunting superhumans?”
“To experiment on. I volunteered for one of the experiments and look at me now! Vance still has hundreds of us held prisoner. That is where Tybalt spends most of his time these days.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know the location. There is one guy who managed to escape. He’s in Las Vegas. He owns a casino. Maybe he can show you the way.”
“Freddy, I’m sorry for what Vance did to you.”
“Me too.” Freddy looked at Tigernaut sadly and then gave him a big hug covering him with his goo.
“Gross,” Don said and puked.
“Now go,” Freddy said.
Tigernaut and Don both walked out of the room.
“Tigernaut, you’ve been slimed.”
“Let’s stop by K-mart and get me some new clothes and then let’s burn these.”
They heard a gunshot behind them followed by Freddy screaming, “I can’t even kill myself! The bullets fly right through me!”
“Let’s get out of here quickly,” Don advised.
“Good idea.”
After landing in Las Vegas in Don’s private jet, they headed for Gambles With Money, an Indian casino owned by a Native American possessing super abilities named Hamlet.
“You check inside. I’ll scope the area around back just in case he tries to escape,” Don said.
Tigernaut entered the casino and immediately was grabbed by two muscular security guards.
“Let go of me,” Tigernaut said as he struggled to free himself from the guards.
“We have instructions to take all of your kind directly to the backroom. Once you’re deemed not a threat, then you can enjoy Hamlet’s hospitality.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Tigernaut said.
They entered through the door at the back of the casino leading to a large room with a big poker table where Hamlet was playing a game of solitaire. He was a tall man with long, black hair and wore a big, black top hat with white feathers embedded in it.
“Sit,” Hamlet instructed him never looking up. “You can leave us. He isn’t a threat.” The guards left the room. “And you are?”
“Tigernaut.”
“Glad to meet you, Tigernaut. So why have you come to my casino? It’s dangerous for one such as yourself to show up here alone.”
“I’m looking for the location where Vance is keeping people like us prisoner. I was told you know where it is.”
“That I do. Why should I show you?”
“You left them there to be experimented on. If you have any decency left in you, then you regret leaving them there.”
“If I were to show you the location, what can you do?”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to free them.”
“I sense there is an ulterior motive.”
“Yes, my brother Tybalt may be there as well. I have a score to settle with him.”
“I’m curious. What is your super power?”
Tigernaut raised his hands and the wooden spikes ripped through his skin.
“Now th
at’s an impressive trick. Here’s mine.” He grabbed a deck of cards and then threw them at him. They scattered all over the table and on Tigernaut’s chest.
“You didn’t do anything.”
“That was a distraction. This is my super ability.” He held up Tigernaut’s dog tags.
“You’re a speedster?”
“One of the fastest out there. Well, thanks to all the coffee I drink. I fill my cup up to the rim with Brim and then I’m ready to go faster and faster.”
“Why the name Hamlet?”
“Because Dances with Wolves was already taken. Just kidding. I’m obsessed with William Shakespeare. The rest of my tribe at the reservation gave me that nickname.”
Don paced back and forth behind the casino. He heard heavy footsteps behind him and before he could turn around, Tybalt had him by the throat. He transported and reappeared several feet away from Tybalt.
“You can try to transport away from me all you want, but you won’t be able to transport away from them,” Tybalt said as he pointed to four men dressed in beige coveralls equipped with proton packs.
“Oh crap!” Don screamed as he tried to transport, but was caught in the four energy streams.
One of the men threw a ghost trap by his feet that opened and sucked him inside.
“Who you gonna call?” Tybalt said as he grabbed the trap and shook it. He handed the trap and a stack of cash to one of the men. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
Tybalt walked away from them and entered the casino through the backdoor. He slit the throat of the security guard on the other side and then headed for the backroom where he sensed his brother was. He busted through the door as Tigernaut slammed into him.
Tybalt lifted him over his head and then body slammed him into the table. Hamlet ran around him, tying him up with a rope. Tybalt grabbed onto the rope and used Hamlet’s momentum to catapult the speedster through the wall and out into the street behind the casino.
“That’s not the first time I’ve dealt with a speedster,” Tybalt explained as he stabbed Tigernaut with his fingernails. He watched as the wounds quickly closed up.
“I see your healing abilities were also enhanced. Good, I’ll get to torture you over and over for eternity! Don’t expect Don coming to your aid. I already took care of him.”